Dreams fulfilled in annual wiffleball weekend

The motto of the 13th annual Travis Roy Foundation Wiffleball tournament was "Field of Dreams." That was a fitting title for the third replica field that was added to Pat O'Connor's backyard, but as the weekend went on, that motto stood for more than just wiffleball.

The fields may have been smaller, but the weekend was larger than life.

"You've gotta come here to believe it," Travis Roy said.

Well, if you build it, they will come. Thanks to Pat O'Connor and the man that bears the foundation's name, hundreds did. Twenty-eight teams far and wide traveled to Essex to play wiffleball, all while raising money to support spinal chord research.

"It's always magic and the whole weekend is magic and that's how we're able to raise the kind of money we will," Roy said.

In 2002, the 1st annual wiffleball tournament featured seven teams and raised $4,000. Twelve years later, 21 more teams participated and $473,000 dollars were raised, almost a 12,000 percent increase.

"Never could have imagined it," Roy said. "Just proud to be a part of it. I feel very lucky, very lucky to be a part of this."

"It comes from people realizing what kind of person Travis is," O'Connor said. "He's an inspirational leader for all of us and he has a vision for folks that need help that's better than anyone I've ever experienced."

That vision is backed by close to three million dollars, all from the annual wiffleball tournament, and all from the ground up.

"I have so much respect for our participants, to go to their neighbors, to go to their coworkers to go to their friends," Roy said.

"The generosity, the kindness, the hard work, and the spirit that comes from all parts of New England really," O'Connor said. "It just gives us more energy to start thinking about next year."

Because of these fields, and this event, people like Travis can continue to dream of a better future.